By: Das, Satyapriya
'Cellphone batteries that can power laptops'
NEW DELHI: Like its rival Nokia, the world’s largest CDMA chipset maker, Qualcomm, is now eying the computing platforms. The American telecom
giant is banking on the rise of wideband CDMA for mobile wireless broadband and its new innovations like Snapdragon chip platforms that can make computing devices like mini laptops run on cell phone batteries.
Qualcomm’s India President Kanwalinder Singh speaks on the new technology paradigms and entrepreneurship initiatives via Qualcomm Ventures (the company’s investment arm) in times of an economic slowdown. Excerpts:
What kind of new technologies can we expect from Qualcomm India labs?
Most smart phones in the world market today, especially the HTC and BlackBerry phones, now have backward integration capability with wideband CDMA networks. Qualcomm India labs have been key to this global innovation.
In 2009, we are concentrating on bringing some new technologies to market which can change people’s lives. Most of us living in Asia, face power problems. Computing penetration is low because of affordability, lack of power and utility.
We are working on technologies in the India labs especially on the mobile wireless broadband and low powered computing devices area.
These small computing devices when embedded with a Qualcomm snapdragon chipset platform can make them run even on mobile phone batteries. Laptops of future will become smaller and Qualcomm sees itself as a major player powering the computing technology.
We won’t manufacture the computing devices but you will definitely see Qualcomm becoming a more visible consumer brand in 2009.
What is Qualcomm’s strategy on the mobile wireless broadband front?
Qualcomm is talking to various laptop makers to insert its Qualcomm powered wireless internet devices, for faster broadband access. It may obviate even the need to carry a mobile phone, if the computing device is small enough.
Our technology is now helping even GSM majors to offer high speed wireless broadband over wideband CDMA technology. Our India labs were also key in developing the technology which offers backward compatibility with GSM.
Now, we are partners with most GSM players. With Nokia too, we have buried our differences. We plan to start new partnerships.
We are seeing good demand for mobile wireless broadband USB devices launched by companies like Reliance Communications and Bharti Airtel. These devices running on wideband CDMA offer uplink speeds of over 1 mbps and downlink speeds of over 3 mbps.
At Rs 600-800 per month it’s much cheaper for consumers and business travelers rather than use a hotel’s wireless internet (or Wi-Fi) at over Rs 800 per night! Wireless broadband will easily takeover Wi-Fi as opening up of 3G paves way for anytime access.
How has the economic slowdown impacted Qualcomm? What’s your advice to employees?
We have started to be prudent on expenditure. But we are doing appraisals twice this year, as before. We have already done one round of appraisals last month. The second round will be done in November, this year, provided the economic condition does not deteriorate.
employees will however do well to utilize this period to invest in themselves - build new skills and learn new technologies. As a company, we have started to invest more in corporate giving programs. Qualcomm is also fuelling entrepreneurship. Qualcomm India Venture Fund has recently closed two deals, one with MapMyIndia.com and another with Tissolve. We also encourage employees to incubate companies and take them to market.
Are you disappointed over the delay in rollout of 3G technologies because of elections?
Actually I am not. 3G is a technology which will change the overall telecom landscape in India, forever. These are key policy decisions and will take time. But eventually, its going to roll out and am sure the new government will accelerate the process.
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